Deneve first led the orchestra in a rocket blast reading of Glinka’s Overture to “Ruslan and Lyudmila,” which was characterized by tight phrasing, taut rhythms and melodies that floated. (…)
Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 (1937), a work that saved the composer’s career, was accompanied appropriately here by thunder and lightning. The orchestra performed magnificently. Haunting melodies, huge climaxes, big brassy bold moments, anguish, irony, a memorable slow searching movement that ends with hope, and a finale that moves from splashy bravura to ominous voices before it builds to glory, all transfixed the crowd. Applause and cheers were long and loud.”